May i just start by saying what a great job the guys have done with this site, and thank you all for having me...Great stuff!

My names Robert, am 34, and have been training now for near enough 20 years now (am 6'4 and 240lbs). In 1999 i became aware of the the work of bodybuilding legend Mike Mentzer, in that same year i became a phone client of his for almost a year, since then i've carried on training in the High Intensity / abbreviated training style (Intense, brief and infrequent training).

In 2003 i suffered a stroke, it forced me to take a 5 year layoff from proper hard training, however at the first given opportunity, i got back into training and began a diet, a vegetarian diet, since then i never had another health problem. At the beginning of this year i decided to go vegan.....never felt better!

You were a client of Mike's? Wow, I am so jealous! He has been an idol of mine for many years, I have all of his books, his underground seminars and a few other bits and pieces.

Thanks for joining up, sounds like you also would have an extremely inspiring story to tell as well. My mother at 59yrs old just suffered a stroke and brain aneurysm at the start of this year, she is doing well but you will know how hard it is to try and get back to where you were before.

I hope you will consider starting a training journal on here, would be fantastic to follow your progress and see what you are doing in the gym. Take care and welcome to VBB, it's a fantastic community here. Please feel free to shout out if you need anything MF.

hey Rob, good to hear that "veganism" is going well for you! mike mentzer is one of my idols too, i use alot of his principles in my training. im guessing it works well for you if youve got to 240lbs! like MF said start a journal mate, it would be good to follow along!

good luck

mike

_________________"iam the strongest one! iam the viking!" - jon pall sigmarsson“may all of your dreams and ambitions happen, but most important, may all of your enemies die"www.infowars.com

Guys, Thank you for the warm welcome....there is many fine athletes here. Thank you

MF, am sorry to hear about your mum, indeed, a stroke is a very tough thing to get over (both mentally and physically), but am glad to hear her recovery is going well, man, its a dark tunnel, but there's light at the end of it.Back in 2003 i was really overdoing things, i was working 7 days a week, training in H.I.T, and i was training 3x a week in Wing Tsun. One morning while eating my breakfast i collapsed on my living room floor with a complete paralysis of the left side of my body. It took a couple of years to regain full power in my left side, the real hard part was the metal recovery, i suffered badly with panic attacks, until one day i said to myself...enough's enough, let the chips fall were they may, i ceased being so afraid of the uncontrollable, my wife was very supportive, she was there every step of the way. The neurologist strongly recommended i do not to train in H.I.T style for 5 years until all risks had passed, i followed his advice to the letter, it was also him that recommended a more plant based diet:)

Yes, for almost a year i was a phone client of Mikes, i did intend to go to America to meet him in person, but unfortunately that meeting never got to happen. Mike had a massive impact on my training and mindset, with training, he taught me about the role of intensity and he really "drove" home the issue of recovery to me (that really comes across in his work), specifically systemic recovery, and stress management (something i forgot about in 2003 lol).At that time, Mike was strongly advocating a consolidated approach to training, with a heavy use of high stress H.I.T techniques such as static holds, negative's and rest pause. For me, on top of a set to all out failure, these techniques were counterproductive as i had to really push the boundaries of volume and frequency. For me training to failure alone is more than enough.

In recent times i've i flirted with John Littles Max contraction training method, i found it to be a great method for increasing strength and working around some minor injuries, but i didnt find it delivered much in the way of hypertrophy.

At the beginning of this year i've been using Brain Johnston's ( another former business partner and close friend of Mikes ) training methods/idea's, ie zone training, cluster sets, and 1 1/4 reps, i find these methods are a lot less taxing on my CNS, moreover, ive never used any other training methods that create such a deep level of congestion within the muscles in such a short amount of time, this is because one can achieve more contractions per unit of time. This type of training is very much for those looking to specifically increase hypertrophy.

I'll certainly try a get a log going guys in the near future.....

CheersRob

Last edited by HIT Rob on Fri May 24, 2013 7:21 pm, edited 2 times in total.

Here's a recent interview of Brain Johnston, it was on listening to this that i really got my eyes opened too hypertrophy specific training.... http://www.highintensitynation.com/

In H.I.T, there is too much focus on becoming stronger (for bodybuilding purposes), yes progressive overload is important, however its only one part of the puzzle. The fact that one is getting stronger, does not necessarily mean one is progressing in terms of hypertrophy. The body learns to cope with more an more resistance, its intra-muscular coordination, neuromuscular adaptation, and you simple become more skilled at the activity. There is even a shifting of tension within the muscles, just so that the body doesn't have to produce hypertrophy, reason being, muscle is a metabolically expensive tissue and the body will do what it can not to produce more and more muscle.

Brains techniques (which are still H.I.T based) produce more of a bodybuilding effect, zone training and 1 1/4 reps produce more contraction's per unit of time, consistent tension thoughtout the entire rep (superior to a traditionally preformed reps, as traditionally preformed reps all have sticking points), the cluster sets, is a rest pause method that produce's more cumulative fatigue within the muscles that really extenuates the pump.

I also dont actually have a set routine or training schedule, i change it from week to week, firstly to better manage stress, secondly i feel its important to vary everything as the body adapts really quickly, and when it does, it becomes more reluctant to change. So for example, one week i'll train 3 days in a row, followed by 4 days off, the following week i might train mon / wed / fri, the next week maybe i'll train just two days, the following week i take a layoff etc. The exercises i mix up from workout to workout, i change the techniques from week to week, i even introduce new foods into my diet every week so as to keep the body from adapting, its my belief that if you eat the same foods all the time the body may become sensitive too them.

People ask me, "well Rob, how are you able to track your progress if your changing your routine all the time", my reply " there is nothing "routine" about my training, but, since you ask, i use the mirror, monthly bodyfat check-ups, and how my clothes fit to measure progress". I do get were their coming from though, some individuals need structure, for example, structure is a requirement if strength training / powerlifting is your focus, as your looking to improve upon a specific function, and the only way to get better at that specific function is through practice.

If you'd like to know more about zone training, cluster sets or 1/ 1/4 reps just give me a shout mate, i'd be happy to elaborate on them:)

Best wishesRob

Last edited by HIT Rob on Fri May 24, 2013 7:26 pm, edited 3 times in total.

Here's a recent interview of Brain Johnston, it was on listening to this that i really got my eyes opened too hypertrophy specific training.... http://www.highintensitynation.com/

In H.I.T, there is too much focus on becoming stronger (for bodybuilding purposes), yes progressive overload is important, however its only one part of the puzzle. The fact that one is getting stronger, does not necessarily mean one is progressing in terms of hypertrophy. The body learns to cope with more an more resistance, its intra-muscular coordination, neuromuscular adaptation, and you simple become more skilled at the activity. There is even a shifting of tension within the muscles, just so that the body doesn't have to produce hypertrophy, reason being, muscle is a metabolically expensive tissue and the body will do what it can not to produce more and more muscle.

Brains techniques (which are still H.I.T based) produce more of a bodybuilding effect, zone training and 1 1/4 reps produce more contraction's per unit of time, consistent tension thoughtout the entire rep (superior to a traditionally preformed reps, as traditionally preformed reps all have sticking points), the cluster sets, is a rest pause method that produce's more cumulative fatigue within the muscles that really extenuates the pump.

I also dont actually have a set routine or training schedule, i change it from week to week, firstly to better manage stress, secondly i feel its important to vary everything as the body adapts really quickly, and when it does, it becomes more reluctant to change. So for example, one week i'll train 3 days in a row, followed by 4 days off, the following week i might train mon / wed / fri, the next week maybe i'll train just two days, the following week i take a layoff etc. The exercises i mix up from workout to workout, i change the techniques from week to week, i even introduce new foods into my diet every week so as to keep the body from adapting, its my belief that if you eat the same foods all the time the body may become sensitive too them.

People ask me, "well Rob, how are you able to track your progress if your changing your routine all the time", my reply " there is nothing "routine" about my training, but, since you ask, i use the mirror, monthly bodyfat check-ups, and how my clothes fit to measure progress". I do get were their coming from though, some individuals need structure, for example, structure is a requirement if strength training / powerlifting is your focus, as your looking to improve upon a specific function, and the only way to get better at that specific function is through practice.

If you'd like to know more about zone training, cluster sets or 1/ 1/4 reps just give me a shout mate, i'd be happy to elaborate on them:)

Best wishesRob

im going to listen to the interview now! ive never ventured much further than just failure, and rest pause so some new techniques will be interesting! i like the no routine bit, im kind of like that myself sometimes i do mon wed fri, sometimes, fri sat sun and occasionally twice a week like yourself. make sure you stick around mate, i think people could learn alot from you!

_________________"iam the strongest one! iam the viking!" - jon pall sigmarsson“may all of your dreams and ambitions happen, but most important, may all of your enemies die"www.infowars.com

Pick a weight that would allow you to preform roughly 10-12 reps to failure (or close to it) with good form, with this weight you will perform 5 mini sets of 3 reps, the rest pause in between each mini set is 3 deep breaths, by the 5th mini set, if you will train to complete failure, that may be 3 reps or how ever many reps it takes. The purpose of the rest pauses is to extenuates the pump, it keeps the movement anaerobic while allowing for more cumulative fatigue, the level of congestion within the muscles you will find to be very surprising.

Last edited by HIT Rob on Mon May 27, 2013 5:04 am, edited 1 time in total.

The forum is great MF, everyone has been really friendly (unlike some other H.I.T forums i've been on, LOL...maybe its their paleo diet that makes them so up tight), and there are many fantastic athletes here, it just goes to show, one CAN indeed...achieve a great (healthy) physique without the need to consume animals or their by products.

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